A bead of sweat rolled down Lady He's forehead as she forced a smile. "What are you saying? I was just... Han'er is such a well - behaved and obedient girl. She never causes any trouble..."
"Are you saying that my daughter is always causing trouble?" The princess glared angrily with wide - open eyes. "It's really ridiculous. My daughter came to her uncle's house all bruised, and yet she's being slandered like this. Tomorrow, I'll go to the palace to see the empress dowager and have a good talk with her."
Under the princess's aggressive pressure, Lady He had no choice but to bow and apologize, saying that she didn't mean that.
Lu Wanning stared fixedly at Shi Aohan. Sure enough, this girl, who was adored by everyone, was not an innocent white lotus but a scheming green tea who loved to disgust people. Seeing that Shi Aohan was about to take the blame again, Lu Wanning spoke up first. "Mother, I don't want to stay here anymore."
The princess, who doted on her daughter, nodded repeatedly. "Alright. Since they've bullied you like this, we don't need to come again!"
However, Lu Wanning didn't rush to leave. Instead, she added, "Also, mother, when we get back, please ask the Fu family to exchange back the betrothal records. I don't want to be the bad guy and be disliked for no reason."
Her voice was low, and because of her recent injuries, she looked extremely pitiful.
Lady Fu, who was standing beside Fu Rongxuan and trying hard to pull him back so that he wouldn't stand up for that orphan girl, was struck dumb by these words. "No... Princess... No, what on earth has happened... Everything was fine before, Princess..."
Lu Wanning said calmly, "On the arch bridge, Shi Aohan has already confessed that she and Fu Rongxuan are in love. I didn't know before, but now that I do, I'm not the kind of person who seizes things by force. Just exchange the betrothal records, and that's that."
Fu Rongxuan looked at Lu Wanning in disbelief, then at Shi Aohan. He couldn't understand at all how things had turned out this way.
Lady Fu naturally didn't dare to agree. She quickly said, "There must be some misunderstanding. Right, Xuan'er, say something. Is there some misunderstanding?"
Fu Rongxuan felt as if there was a fishbone stuck in his throat. What could he say? Deny it? He really loved Shi Aohan. But admit it? This betrothal was bestowed by the empress dowager. If the betrothal was called off and the empress dowager was enraged, their Fu family would be in big trouble!
Lu Wanning sneered. "Misunderstanding? There's no misunderstanding. Even on the arch bridge just now, I was still half - believing and half - doubting. But seeing the way the heir of the Fu family is standing beside Miss Shi now, I understand everything, don't I?"
Lady Fu's face flushed red then turned pale. She tightly grabbed her son's arm, urging him to apologize to Lu Wanning.
But Lu Wanning continued, "I'm just very curious. Before I asked the empress dowager to bestow the betrothal, I did ask the Fu family's opinion. Since the heir of the Fu family was not willing, why did he agree to this betrothal?"
Wei Shi had already packed up. Ignoring the others, Lu Wanning followed the princess out. When they reached the courtyard gate, she suddenly felt nauseous.
She originally thought of giving up her position quickly so that the male and female leads could get together. But she never expected that after seeing them today, she found out that they were actually an unfaithful man and a shameless woman. Thinking it over carefully, she realized it was all nonsense. Why should she take the blame for what they had done?
Lu Wanning stamped her foot. Since the feud had already been established, she couldn't be the only one feeling disgusted.
"One more thing. I'm very curious. Miss Shi seems to be a filial person and has been living with her mother. But as of now, it's been less than sixteen months since your mother's passing, right?"
After saying that, she left. But there were many people present. According to the custom in the capital, one should observe mourning for twelve months. If Miss Shi had fallen in love with the heir of the Fu family four months ago, then she had lost her chastity during the mourning period. If it was after four months, the heir of the Fu family and the princess had been betrothed six months ago, and she had always called the princess cousin in public and private.
Moreover, at the entrance of the duke's mansion today, Miss Shi herself said that she would observe mourning for her mother for three years.
Shi Aohan felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She was speechless. Lu Wanning's words just now were telling everyone that she was shameless, seducing someone else's fiancé, and so unfilial that she had lost her chastity during the mourning period. How could she bear such a big accusation?
So many people around were looking at Shi Aohan with strange looks. Shi Aohan felt dizzy and fainted.
He Chan exclaimed, "Cousin, cousin, what's wrong with you? Someone, quickly call a doctor. My cousin has fainted. Mother... Go and call the imperial physician quickly."
The coming - of - age ceremony was a very important day for a girl. It meant that she had grown up and could get engaged. Inviting relatives and friends also meant telling everyone that if there was a suitable young man, they could consider her daughter.
However, He Chan's shouting made the ladies present start to think. Just now, the princess of the Zhennan Prince's Mansion was injured and fainted. She was the He Duke's own niece, but the He family didn't seem very worried. The doctor was only called after the princess's mother came. Now, this Shi girl, who had lost face and fainted out of embarrassment, was being shouted over like this by He Chan.
It was obvious that He Chan was muddle - headed. No matter how noble her status was, marrying such a girl would be a big trouble.
The He Duke's face turned ashen. He glared angrily at his wife and shouted, "Hurry up and have her carried away. What a disgrace!"
Apart from the He Duke, the Fu Duke's face was also extremely ugly. How could his son be so infatuated with such a down - and - out woman that he even wanted to hold her in his arms?
It really infuriated him!
The Fu Duke didn't care about giving the He family face anymore. He flung his sleeve and shouted, "Fu Rongxuan, get back home right now!"
Before the time for the coming - of - age ceremony, the entire He family was in a complete mess. The guests all found excuses and got up to leave one after another.
In the pavilion of the courtyard, Sheng Jinyu was sitting opposite a man, drinking tea. The man was He Nanfeng, the only son of the eldest branch of the He family. When He Nanfeng's parents passed away, he was still young. More than a decade had passed, and He Nanfeng had grown into an adult. But since his grandfather's passing, he had become a marginal figure in the He family.
Sheng Jinyu raised his eyebrows. "Such a thing has happened. Don't you need to go and take care of it?"
He Nanfeng poured tea for Sheng Jinyu. "What does it have to do with me?"
Sheng Jinyu gave a soft laugh. Then he saw the people from the Zhennan Prince's Mansion leaving in a grand manner. He looked at them slowly and suddenly laughed. "It seems that your cousin is quite interesting today."
He was talking about Lu Wanning.
He Nanfeng looked up in that direction and squinted his eyes. He used to see this cousin often when she was young, and they had a good relationship. She often pestered him to buy her candied haws. She was much more interesting than his other cousins. But later, he went traveling and studying, and they had grown estranged. He only remembered that she was a naive and willful little girl. A few days ago when he returned to the capital and sent her a gift, she was just lukewarm, which made their relationship even more distant.
Seeing that He Nanfeng didn't respond, Sheng Jinyu frowned and laughed. "What, do you also think that Fu Rongxuan made a good choice? That the Shi orphan girl is more suitable for him?"
He Nanfeng slightly hooked his lips. "Shi orphan girl? Brother Yu, don't talk nonsense. She's not an orphan. We both know what they're up to. If Lu Wanning can really recognize Fu Rongxuan's true nature through this incident, it will be her fortune. But I'm afraid... it's difficult!"
Everyone in the capital knew how infatuated Lu Wanning was with Fu Rongxuan. No one believed that Lu Wanning's words about calling off the betrothal today were sincere. Most likely, by tomorrow, she would be chasing after Fu Rongxuan again.